Birdie, Ada and Jane are all lost. Life has not turned out as they planned, and all three of them are scared to ask for help, to say yes – or to say no. To take a chance on someone else.
Birdie Greenwing has been at a loose end ever since her beloved twin sister and husband passed away eight years previously. Too proud and stubborn to admit she is lonely, Birdie’s world has shrunk.
Jane Brown hoped moving to Brighton would be a new start, away from her overbearing mother.
While she finds it hard to stand up for herself, her daughter Frankie has no problem telling people what she does and doesn’t want.
Ada Kowalski thought training to become an Oncologist in England would be a dream come true. In reality she is isolated, exhausted, the professional detachment she has had to develop now threatens to take over her life.
When a series of incidents brings their lives crashing together, these three unlikely allies find that there’s always more to a person than meets the eye.
Review
What a fabulous book 🩷
“Grief is love with nowhere to go after all”
All the feels, heartwarming, with incredible characters, strong, sensitive, caring,
You get so invested in them, just delightful.
You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll be left wondering why you’re not part of their community, and how to go about getting there!
A powerful story, thought provoking and compelling, a beauty on grief, love, family, friendship, human connections, but more importantly about life.
Just wonderful – make sure to pick up your copy and recommend it to everyone !
Out now with Doubleday Books.
About Ericka Waller
Ericka Waller is 38 and lives in Brighton with three daughters, too many pets and a husband.
She is an award winning blogger and columnist.
When not writing she can be found walking her dogs, reading in the bath or buying stuff off eBay.
Thank you ever so much to the lovely people over at Gallic Books for sending me an ARC of this second book in The Variety Palace Mystery series! I was also lucky enough to be gifted a bonus copy of the first installment in the series (The Tumbling Girl) which I listened to in audiobook format last year!
—Synopsis—
The Variety Palace Music Hall is in trouble, due in no small part to a gruesome spate of murders that unfolded around it a few months previously.
Between writing, managing the music hall and trying to dissuade her boss from installing a water tank in the building, Minnie Ward has her hands full. Her complicated relationship with detective Albert Easterbrook doesn’t even bear thinking about.
But when a performer’s brother mysteriously goes missing, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Then another body is found dead in a trunk, and a strange connection starts to emerge.
The crimes will propel the unlikely duo into the shady world of illegal gambling, dog fighting and monkey kidnappings as they trace things back to a tragedy that took place fourteen years ago, leaving 183 children dead. And given that the incident touched so many people’s lives, everyone is a suspect…
—Review—
I only have one request, and it is pretty simple: please Bridget, we want more and more of Minnie and Albert! What a treat these books are, I cannot recommend them enough!
The writing is simply exquisite, you are transported straight to the Victorian times, you can hear the hooves of the horses and the carriages, you can smell the streets of London, feel the damp and the fog, hear the sounds of the bustling life from those times!
The characters are so deep, so accomplished, you cannot help but get totally immersed in their lives and invested in their fate. Their relationships are complex and engrossing, nothing is out of place, nothing is superflus.
Can they find the culprit before it’s too late? Can Minnie continue to keep the Palace afloat whilst Tansie recuperate? Is she safe? Who can she trust?
The plot is ever so clever, fast paced, twisting and turning, gripping, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
This is definitely my new favourite crime series, so, dear reader, join me in discovering how Minnie and Albert get to solve this latest streak of murders… To be devoured!
If you haven’t read the first book in the series (The Tumbling Girl); fear not! You won’t get lost, but it is such a shame and in my humble opinion you should remedy this straight away! I’ve popped the synopsis below to tempt you a bite more!
—About The Author—
Bridget Walsh was born in London to Irish immigrant parents. She studied English literature and was an English teacher for 23 years, before leaving the profession to pursue her writing. Bridget lives in Norwich with her husband, Micky, and her two dogs.
The manuscript of Bridget’s debut novel, THE TUMBLING GIRL, written on the MA Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) course at UEA, won the UEA Little, Brown Award for Crime Fiction 2019. She has completed the second title in the Minnie Ward and Albert Easterbrook series, THE INNOCENTS. THE TUMBLING GIRL was published by Gallic Books in May 2023, with THE INNOCENTS to follow in 2024.
—About The Tumbling Girl (Variety Palace Mysteries 1)—
The first of the sharp, witty Variety Palace Mysteries, THE TUMBLING GIRL sees an unlikely duo team up to solve a grisly spate of murders.
1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, a feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of boxer-turned-private detective Albert Easterbrook to help her find justice.
Together they navigate London, from its high-class clubs to its murky underbelly. But as the bodies pile up, they must rely on one another if they’re going to track down the killer – and make it out alive . . .
A gripping debut to delight fans of historical crime.
Sister Holiday is back!! Thanks so much to Emily over @Pushkin Press for having me on the blog tour of the second installment of the Sister Holiday series!
—Synopsis—
Tattooed from her neck to her toes and sporting a gold tooth as sharp as her wisecracks, Sister Holiday struggles to stay on the righteous path. She’s committed both to taking her permanent vows with the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and joining Magnolia Riveaux’s latest venture, Redemption Detective Agency-both in service of satisfying her eternal quest for answers.
When Sister Holiday and Riveaux set out to bust a philandering husband, they instead find the body of a priest floating in the Mississippi river, and with it, Redemption’s next case.
As a torrential rainstorm drowns New Orleans for three harrowing days over Easter weekend, Sister Holiday and Riveaux follow the clues. With the stakes rising alongside the relentless floodwaters, our favourite punk nun- sleuth throws herself into the deep end yet again.
—Review—
“The rain tried to wash us away that weekend. Or bless us, hold us under until the last breath. Every end a beginning.”
Our favourite queer, rock & roll, unconventional nun continues to sleuth around, but this time it’s even closer to home…
Saint Sebastian’s own Father Reese has been murdered, mutilated; Father Nathan is now missing… Who’s a friend? Who’s a foe?
We’re back in Sister Holiday’s beloved New Orleans, still a character in its own right, but this time facing raging storm and deluge.
Can Sister Holiday do it all, can she face the challenges this Easter weekend is bringing to her doorstep? Can her sobriety, her sanity and her faith sustain it all?
Why is her own brother Moose suddenly back? What does he want?
With everything on the verge of irreparable catastrophe, get swept away on Sister Holiday’s race against time to elucidate this latest mystery, find Father Nathan and the culprit before it’s too late, before the water engulfs it all, cleanses the evidence and sins, drowns the innocents and silences the truth.
A brilliant noir whodunnit which will delight those seeking unconventional mysteries!
Out now with Pushkin Press.
—About the Author—
Margot Douaihy lives in Northampton, MA, and teaches creative writing at Emerson College. Scorched Grace, the first of Douaihy’s Sister Holiday Mysteries, was named a best book of 2023 by Apple Books, BookPage and Marie Claire, among others. She is also the author of the poetry collections Bandit/Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr, Scranton Lace, and Girls Like You.
Wow Becky you’ve done it again! I loved your debut One Moment but this… this is quite something! I absolutely adored it! Thank you very much Corvus Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in advance!
—Synopsis—
What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife?
The first time Emery’s heart stops, she is only five years old…
Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do – if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery’s heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead.
Each time Emery’s heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once – but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her.
As Emery’s life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop – so that she can see Nick again.
This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.
—Review—
I’ll admit I’ve shed quite a few tears but this is filled with so much joy and love that you can’t help but fall for this story!
Emery is afflicted by a strange condition… her heart stops beating sometimes. And in those moments, she is transported to a place “in between” where she meets her guide, Nick. A person supposed to help her get to terms with the fact that she has now died… but what are they to do when her heart restarts every time?
Impossible love, impossible life what do you make of it? Do you stay in the limbo? Do you chose to live? If so how? 1000%, recklessly or to the fullest? But does that really make a difference?
How do you navigate the reluctance from your loved ones to let you live the way you want?
Such a thought provoking read, exploring love, grief, family dynamics and relationships, making you appreciate the preciousness of life, how fleeting a moment can be, and how grateful we should be for the people in our lives.
When everything can disappear in an instant, can you let people in? Or are you doomed to always be on the outside of love, of life…
It’s out today (21 March 2024) so get yourself a copy of this beautiful book! And if you haven’t had the chance to ready Becky’s debut novel “One Moment”, I can only recommend you remedy this straight away, you won’t be disappointed!
—About the Author—
Becky grew up in Berkshire, UK, and has loved reading since before she can remember. After studying social sciences at Cambridge university, this love of reading led her to a career in publishing, where she worked as a book publicist in London for several years before taking a career break and moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses. It was here that she decided to give writing a proper go, though it was still a few years, a few more destinations, and a couple more jobs before she had the idea that would become ONE MOMENT, her debut novel.
She currently splits her time between London, Bristol and Falmouth, and works as a freelance book publicist and editor, alongside her own writing.
Find Becky on Twitter (@Bookish_Becky) or Instagram (beckyhunterbooks) – she’d love to hear from you!
What a stunner of a debut! I am so grateful to have had the chance to win a proof from the lovely Harper Reader’s Room Team. Last year was such a whirlwind that I never got round to posting my review, so I thought that paperback publication would be the perfect opportunity to redeem myself!
—Synopsis—
Three women, five centuries, one spellbinding story.
In the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.
In 1942, Violet rebels against her father’s ideas of a ‘proper young lady’ . . . until he takes matters into his own hands.
In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.
Three women they tried to cage – but Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…
—Review—
Altha 1619 Violet 1942 Kate 2019 The Weyward Women… witches? Or simply women at one with nature and the elements?
“’Sight is a funny thing,’ my mother used to say. ‘Sometimes it shows us what is before our eyes.But sometimes it shows us what has already happened, or will yet come to pass?‘”
In this incredible debut, Hart has managed to capture the animalistic nature of the bonds uniting women, especially mothers and daughters. How it is engrained in our DNA, being passed on through generations. There is no escaping it, there is something deeply magical and compelling about it.
A feminist tale, a powerful exploration of motherhood, of the fierceness of women, their determination and their protective nature, this is a novel that will stay with you for a long time.
With its cleverly woven plot and character driven story, all those secrets will keep you on the edge of your seat and ensure you devour this beauty as quickly as possible.
A truly accomplished and incredible debut which was one of my favourite books of 2023!
With Love, AGJ
Out now with Borough Press – in Hardback, Paperback, E-format and Audio.
—My favourite excerpt-–
Below is a passage from the book that really resonated with me and that shows how beautiful and compelling the writing is.
“She hadn’t known it would be like this. Now, in the mirror, Kate assesses herself. The strong lines of her limbs, the new spread of her hips. Her belly, with its growing curve. Her breasts amaze her – the darkening of the nipples, the veins that glow blue and bright beneath her skin. The mole on her breastbone has darkened, too: ruby deepening to crimson. Even her skin is different – it is smoother, thicker. As if she is armoured. Armoured and ready, to protect her daughter. The force of it – this love that surges in her veins – shocks her. As does the searing clarity that she will do anything, whatever is necessary, to keep her child safe. Unbidden, the day of the accident flashes in her mind. Her father’s hand on her shoulder, rough and desperate, pushing her out of the way of the oncoming car. Had he felt this way, too? She blinks the memory away, refocuses her gaze on the woman in the mirror. A woman she can barely recognise as herself. She looks – and feels – powerful.”
—About the author—
Emilia Hart is a British-Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied English Literature and Law at the University of New South Wales before working as a lawyer in Sydney and London. Emilia is a graduate of Curtis Brown Creative’s Three Month Online Novel Writing Course and was Highly Commended in the 2021 Caledonia Novel Award. Her short fiction has been published in Australia and the UK. She lives in London. You can follow Emilia on Twitter at @EmiliaHartBooks.
Thanks a lot to Tara and Pushkin Press for having me on the tour! I loved reading this book and couldn’t help but hear the song “Le Brio (Branchez la guitare)” by Big Soul during!
Synopsis
When Saint Sebastian’s School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials’ response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.
Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she’s no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her chequered past – and neither task will be easy.
An exciting start to Margot Douaihy’s bold series that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Review
Meet Sister Holiday. Complex, flawed, and well… a nun!
“Sleuthing and stubbornness were my gifts from God, tools They knew I could use.”
Set in New Orleans, which becomes a character of its own, lending its heat and oppressiveness to the story so well, appearances can be deceiving.
She’s definitely not your typical sleuth, but she’s determined, obsessed even, with finding out who desecrated her new home, her school and instilled fear into her Order.
Heavily tattooed, part of a punk band, queer and rebellious, she couldn’t be further from what one would imagine a nun’s background be like. But that’s the beauty behind those words, no bias, even with shame and secrets, you can find a home and a sense of belonging.
Anti-hero, sometimes unlikeable, Sister Holiday has a dark past and a short temper. Always pushing the limits, but as you get to know her, you get to understand why she chose a path of penance, and why the vengeful hunt is part of her core. But despite all of this, her heart isn’t as black as one might think.
Cleverly written, unconventional and entertaining, this book sets to break the boundaries of the genre and Douaihy has started a very interesting series here! If you want to enter the world of the Order of The Sublime Blood, pick up a copy now!
With Love,
AGJ
Don’t forget to check what my fellow bloggers have to say!
If you haven’t heard yet, there is a fabulous debut that came out on 11 August! It’s called “Housebreaking” by Colleen Hubbard and if you love Elizabeth Strout this is definitely for you!
Thank you so much to Clare over at Two Fond of Books and to Corsair Books for making me one of the lucky people to have already read this great story!
—Synopsis—
Following a long-standing feud and looking to settle the score, a woman decides to dismantle her home—alone and by hand—and move it across a frozen pond during a harsh New England winter in this mesmerizing debut.
Home is certainly not where Del’s heart is. After a local scandal led to her parents’ divorce and the rest of her family turned their backs on her, Del left her small town and cut off contact.
Now, with both of her parents gone, a chance has arrived for Del to retaliate.
Her uncle wants the one thing Del inherited: the family home.
Instead of handing the place over, and with no other resources at her disposal, Del decides she will tear the place apart herself—piece by piece.
But Del will soon discover, the task stirs up more than just old memories as relatives—each in their own state of unraveling—come knocking on her door.
This spare, strange, magical book is a story not only about the powerlessness and hurt that run through a family but also about the moments when brokenness can offer us the rare chance to start again.
—Review—
“She wanted to go through life completely unnoticed, below level, submarine.”
Meet Del. 24 without much to show for. She lives with Tym, an old friend of her late father, and she just cannot be bothered. She can’t retain a job, she has no purpose, 0 ambition, and no social life.
So when she loses yet another menial job, and Tym asks her to move out, she gets quite a kick up the backside! Coincidently, a ghost from her past shows up: her cousin Greg. He came to make her an offer on behalf of his father, her Uncle Chuck: he wants to buy her parents’ house.
As she travels across the country and back in time, intent on accepting this offer, she is forced to face the feelings she’s buried all of those years. And when reality strikes that they are not interested in her or the house, but in fact in the land to develop and make money out of it, something in her snaps.
She goes back to a feral state, a core and primitive instinct possessing her that she cannot (nor want to) get rid off, embarking on this insane project to deconstruct the house room by room, piece by piece, and move it across the pond as an act of vengeance against this family she so despises.
What a clever story Colleen Hubbard has written here!
As Del has no choice but face her past, you cannot help but wonder if one can ever really escape the past? Aren’t we always forced to confront it in order to move forward?
“You’re a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a terrible haircut.“
By deconstructing the house, Del also deconstructs her life. To free herself from the shackles and hurts from the past, she will have to perform an exorcism. She will have to face and accept the dichotomy of nostalgia, make peace with herself, her late parents, their shortcomings, and this town and its people that she loathes and loves at the same time.
“I need to finish this. I do. I can’t explain it.“
She’s so stubborn, it might kill her but she won’t give up! For once in her life she doesn’t want to. It is stronger than her, it’s an urge she cannot shake. In her determination and her fury, she takes herself to the brink, turning into a wounded animal who wants to be left alone.
But it is without counting on others forcing a helping hand. By reluctantly (not) accepting for other people to unexpectedly make their way into her life and her project, she is given something even more unexpected: hope.
Through this crazy endeavour, Del is working towards finding herself and letting go of the past, ready for the future, and you cannot help but wonder: what would I have done in her shoes?
With Love AGJ
—About the Author—
Colleen Hubbard is an American writer who grew up in New England and now lives in (old) England with her British husband and children. Her debut novel, Housebreaking, was published in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in April 2022, in August 2022 in the UK, and is forthcoming in 2023 in translation. Her essays have appeared in Electric Literature, Literary Hub and other publications.
Thank you so much to Alison Barrow for gifting me this proof, what an absolute triumph! Definitely a strong contender for book of the year 2022!
—Synopsis—
‘Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here’ – Elizabeth Zott.
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with – of all things – her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (‘combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride’) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott.
—Review—
“What I love about rowing […] is that it’s always done backwards. It’s almost as if the sport itself is trying to teach us to not get ahead of ourselves.”
What an absolute gem and a strong contender for debut novel of the year!
Meet Elizabeth Zott. Scientist, mother, lover, rower, she never settles for anything.
Whilst navigating through Elizabeth’s challenges, Bonnie Garmus very wittily paint a portrait of what it was like to be a woman in the 60s, through the eyes of different generations, from Elizabeth to her daughter Madeline, from her dog Six-Thirty to Dr Mason or Father Wakely.
Each character is a window to different ways of thinking; to prejudices that Elizabeth is intent on fighting.
Strong, uncompromising, inspirational, you are bound to fall in love with this force of nature. If I’d been one of her contemporary, I would definitely have wanted to be like her, to share her values.
Teaching hundreds of words to her dog, encouraging free speech and thinking for her daughter, sky is the limit for Elizabeth Zott. She thrives to use science to fix humanity, she simply cannot accept the established order of civilisation. She can’t accept those archaic, outrageous and misogynistic ways of life, stereotypes and biases that society keeps on perpetuating.
“When a boat succeeds, it’s because the people in the boat have managed to set aside their petty differences and physical discrepancies and row as one. Perfect harmony”.
Whether it’s at work, in her love life with Calvin, or with her few friends, she simply is implacable and uncompromising. It all comes down to chemistry. As a result, men fear and despise her, women envy and resent her, but she simply can’t let anyone dictate how to go about her life.
“People need to believe in something bigger than themselves”
When you don’t fit in, you either comply and compromise, or you stand your ground. When she gets her own cooking show on TV, revolutionising the « Afternoon Depression Zone », her fierceness and intransigent nature will, in spite of herself, empower thousands of women to believe in themselves, to understand their worth, to take back some control.
This book is a triumph! So compelling, thought provoking, it will challenge you to question subjects you didn’t even know you had to! Philosophical at times, full of clever and subtle thoughts on tough subjects, it will make your brain and your soul sense so many emotions: anger, rage, happiness, sadness, you laugh, you cry but love so much. It is pure joy!
I can’t stop thinking about it, this book is powerful, gripping, endearing, you have got to get yourself a copy.
With Love, AGJ
Out now in hardback, audio and e-format.
—About Bonnie Garmus—
Bonnie Garmus. Photography: Serena Bolton
Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked for a wide range of clients, in the US and abroad, focusing primarily on technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
Thank you so much Del Rey for having me on the tour!
—Synopsis—
How do you heal a broken house? First you unlock its secrets.
Alone on an island, surrounded by flowers that shine as dusk begins to fall, sits an old, faded house. Rooms cannot be rented here and visits are only for those haunted by the memory of loss.
When Liddy receives an invitation, she thinks there must be some mistake – she’s never experienced loss. But with her curiosity stirred, and no other way to escape a life in which she feels trapped, she decides to accept.
Once there, she meets Vivienne, a beautiful, austere woman whose glare leaves Liddy unsettled; Ben, the reserved gardener; and Raphael, the enigmatic Keymaker. If Liddy is to discover her true purpose in the house, she must find the root of their sorrow – but the house won’t give up its secrets so easily…
—Review—
Thank you ever so much to Marie-Louise and to Del Rey for having me on this tour!
What a triumph! This will definitely be one of my favorite books of 2022. Absolutely stunning!
“The petals of the sorrowing stars were stirring”
16 years ago, a little girl lost her doll. Little did she know that this was Fate’s doing, or what would come of it.
Madeleine Harwood (also known as Liddy), relishes in making marchpane with her father. Her family is set on marrying her to a man she has no interest in, so when she receives this mysterious package from a Vivienne Castellini, she knows she’s found a way to escape it all.
But who is this elusive Vivienne, and why would she send her a strange bulb to plant? What is this House of Sorrowing Stars that she is invited to?
As soon as she arrives, she knows that there is more to this than meets the eyes.
The reader gets to discover this mystical and eerie place alongside Liddy, embarking into an enchanting, yet dangerous journey.
No day is the same, and each carry its load of discoveries. As Liddy meets her hosts and the guests, she slowly understands what this place is about: “a place for grief to go, and the chance to be free from whatever it is you carry – be it guilt, regret, fear or shame.”
Through magical and clever writing, you get to feel all the emotions, all the memories through the page.
But most importantly you get to experience the most special place of all: the enigmatic Library of Lost Souls, and its guardian Eloura.
“Grief is like an anchor for the soul; it keeps you safe but unmoving”
By reading the stories within, one can free the writers from their sorrows. Having nothing to let go off, will Liddy succeed in freeing the house and its inhabitants of theirs? Can she coax the secrets out of Vivienne, Ben, or The Keymaker?
Beautiful, atmospheric and haunting, this book is an absolute gem that will take your breath away. It will suck you in from the first page, delight you with all of its unexpected turns, and I can guarantee that as you read that last line, it will not let go of your soul that easily. Magnificent.
With Love AGJ
Out on 10 February 2022 in hardback, audio and e-format.
—About Beth Cartwright—
Photo Credit: RHUK
Beth Cartwright has taught English in Greece and travelled around South East Asia and South America, where she worked at an animal sanctuary. A love of language and the imaginary led her to study English Literature and Linguistics at Lancaster University, and she now lives on the edge of the Peak District with her family and two cats.
Don’t forget to check out what my fellow bloggers are saying!
A big thank you to the team over at HQ for having me on the blog tour! This book was simply stunning and will undoubtedly haunt me for weeks to come. Beautifully written and compelling, I am a fan of Polly’s words and having not read The Illustrated Child, I will definitely make sure to find a spot for it on my 2022 TBR pile.
—Synopsis—
When Tartelin Brown accepts a job with the reclusive Marianne Stourbridge, she finds herself on a wild island with a mysterious history.
Tartelin is tasked with hunting butterflies for Marianne’s research. But she quickly uncovers something far more intriguing than the curious creatures that inhabit the landscape.
Because the island and Marianne share a remarkable history, and what happened all those years ago has left its scars, and some terrible secrets.
As Tartelin pieces together Marianne’s connection to the island, she must confront her own reasons for being there. Can the two women finally face up to the painful memories that bind them so tightly to the past?
Atmospheric and deeply emotional, The Unravelling is the captivating novel from the author of The Illustrated Child.
—Review—
“The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness”
1927: on their hauntingly beautiful island, the Stourbridge family seem to prosper. Marianne loves spending time with her father, chasing after butterflies, studying them, collecting them. But as he decides to expand his business interests beyond herring fishing, he begins to grow more distant. He wants Marianne to inherit his new silkworm venture, his magnanery. And to manage it, he brings in a new girl from France: Nan. Enigmatic and knowledgeable, she will trigger Marianne out of her boundaries, out of childhood, and shake her world for ever.
2018: Marianne is back onto the island after it was requisitioned during the war. Now much older and incapacitated, she is looking for an assistant to help her pursue her lepidopterist’s interests, studying mutations that have occurred here since she left. She is a recluse, difficult to interact with, a very complex character, hiding many hardships and an immense grief behind her tough facade.
When Tartelin arrives and starts working for her, she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her, her history. Mourning herself the recent passing of her adoptive mother, this peculiar place without electricity or internet, disconnected from the rest of the world, is the perfect escape from the pain.
She is forced to face the horrible reality that the one special person in her life is no longer with her. Always an outsider, with her ever so special ruffle of skin on her cheek, she connected with her mother in a way not many people ever will.
“It is impossible to watch someone you love die”
Tartelin’s sorrow becomes more and more palpable as she embarks on this therapeutic journey within this ethereal refuge. She feels a growing connection with this strange woman and her island. The more she explores, trying to coax Marianne along out of her shell, the more she hopes to soothe the pains, put the ghosts to rests, unravel the mysteries surrounding this place and its inhabitants. As she hunts butterflies, she also hunts for the truth; about Marianne, about the island, about herself, about life.
“The pull of it. Magnetic. As if it wants me to search out its secrets.”
Unearthing secrets page after page, opening windows into the past, you get to delve deep into the protagonists’s feelings, their evolving relationship, and it makes you question your own relationship to nature, to life and death.
Polly Crosby’s writing is absolute perfection. The story unfolds in such a poetic way, the words so delicate, touching you with the fragility of butterfly wings, something about it reaching out deep into your emotions, into the extraordinary depth of the characters, allowing you to feel the grief, the briefness of life, the atmospheric island and the magic of it all. Stunning.
There is something immensely sad about this book, but it is also full of hope. As much as things mutate, some things remain the same, like anchors. Once the island takes a hold of you, it will never let you go.
After a whirlwind of a year which saw Polly receive writing scholarships from both Curtis Brown Creative and The University of East Anglia’s MA in Creative Writing, she went on to be runner up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel. Read Polly’s piece for the Bridport Prize’s blog here.
Polly’s novel was snapped up by HarperCollins HQ in the UK and Commonwealth in a 48 hour pre-empt, and a few days later by HarperCollins Park Row Books in North America.
Polly grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives in the heart of Norfolk with her husband and son, and her very loud and much loved rescue Oriental cat, Dali.
The Illustrated Child is her first novel. Her second novel, The Unravelling, is out on 6th January ‘22.
A.G-J BOOKS & GEMS 